Review of New Wrinkle, The

According to its creators, Amir Aghelnejad and Traviss Corry, “the new wrinkle” refers to the wrinkles in culture that innovation causes as it moves forward, and that pretty much sums up what this site is all about: innovations in global culture and how they are changing the world. Both 2004 graduates of Langara College in Vancouver, Amir and Traviss design, produce, and manage the show together. They began work on The New Wrinkle in March of 2006, posting their first episode a few months later in May. The videography is by Cory MacGragor of Terraform Multimedia, and the show often features the music of DJ Godo.

The New Wrinkle is a daily podcast, so the episodes are fairly unscripted and the chemistry between Amir and Traviss produces results that are either hilariously awkward or just plain silly. Wide-ranging topics include anything from science to history to graphic design, but all segments are geared toward innovation. You can also find episodes by date or title in the archive

, like Crazy Sexy Cool #$%@ed Up Lobster, Stupid Installation Art?, or Vegan Curry Cooking. The installments usually last between two and five minutes. In terms of quality, the editing is not so hot, and many of the segments are filmed with a hand-held camera, so it can get a bit dizzying. But for the most part, the affectionate and funny interaction between the two hosts makes up for the lack of good technical production.

Episode 82, International Symbols, particularly exemplifies the tone of The New Wrinkle. Here our hosts, at night and possibly influenced, are trying to explain the idea of international symbols, when they start wondering what that blinking red warning light emitting the loud annoying sound signifies. Amir dares Traviss to touch it, and hilarity ensues.